


A Trip to the Library

by fir8008



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 03:44:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1251529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by "A Trip to the Library" from She Loves Me. After getting dumped by Kris, Yixing finds himself in the library where he meets Joonmyun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Trip to the Library

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to AsianFanfics on May 14, 2013.

“ _A trip to the library has made a new girl of me, for suddenly I can see the magic of books!_ ” – Ilona Ritter, She Loves Me

Yixing was unsure of where his grand destination was as he wandered away from the shop. He was dazed and hurt. Kris had dumped him unceremoniously and he was still reeling. He passed over the bridge and past the movie theater. The theater was just letting out a crowd. A foreign film was playing for the weekend and the crowd was full of happily chattering couples. Yixing sighed heavily as he walked past and down the street.  


Yixing was even more surprised when he realized he’d walked into the public library. He looked around, absorbing the silence nestled among the long shelves of books and marble floors. His stomach began to clench as he nervously flitted to a shelf. Even after years of living in Korea he struggled when reading Hangul and therefore avoided situations where there wasn’t someone to read things for him.  


Deciding blending in was the best strategy, Yixing immediately reached for a book on the nearest shelf but then froze. The lines of the characters swam in his mind and sweat began to bead up on his forehead. He had no idea what this shelf contained. What if he was picking up a book about people who eat their own excrement? Or puppy mills? This potential could be about anything and he’d never know.  


A person beside him gently cleared his throat. “Pardon me…”  


Yixing turned and looked into the warmest pair of brown eyes he’s ever seen. He felt his heart flutter.  


“I don’t mean to intrude, but I was wondering if you needed help.” Those brown eyes crinkled gently behind thick rimmed glasses. The man’s smile was wide and inviting.  


“No!” Yixing blurted. Blushing, he said, “Yes, I am.”  


The next couple of minutes are a blur as the man – who introduced himself as Joonmyun – led Yixing outside to a little snack cart. He bought them hot chocolates and handed one to Yixing. The sweet liquid loosened Yixing’s tongue and soon enough he was blabbing his troubles to the other man.  


“I mean, I should’ve seen it coming. Kris never wanted to meet my family and he never wanted to introduce me to his. He’d stay out late staying he was working but when I checked the store logs he never stayed past closing time. And he’s just a suave guy, like I fell for him when he walked in the door. He just has that effect. But we didn’t want the same things.” Yixing stares into his hot chocolate. “I guess I wasn’t smart enough for him. He’s fluent in four languages! I can speak two, but I can’t really read Korean. That’s why I was frozen when you found me.”  


Joonmyun nodded with an understanding, compassionate smile. “It must be hard for you.”  


Yixing nodded with a slight pout. Inside, he was singing with joy. Joonmyun seemed like such a nice guy. A little voice deep within him warned Yixing not to let his guard down. At any moment Joonmyun might turn into a huge jerk.  


“Well I suppose you couldn’t go wrong with _The Way of All Flesh_ …” Joonmyun’s voice snapped Yixing out of his reverie. Flesh?! The way of all flesh?! After all of Yixing’s woeful tales of rude lovers this person dared to bring up skin? Enraged, Yixing slapped Joonmyun.  


Much to Yixing’s surprise, Joonmyun smiled at him warmly. “I’m sorry. I shocked you, didn’t I? I was speaking about a novel, one of my favorites.”  


Yixing felt his insides melt at those words. “No! I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight.” He smiled to himself, realizing how much he liked this Joonmyun.  


“You know, I could help you with this problem of yours.”  


“How?”  


“I could read you some of my favorite books.”  


Yixing felt his eyes widen. “When?”  


Joonmyun cocked an eyebrow. “Now, if you’d like.”  


Yixing’s brain kicked in. _Wait!_ It cried. _Think! This seems a little suspicious and maybe a little dangerous. Dare you go up to his apartment? What if something goes wrong? What if…?_

“Good morning, Minseok.” Yixing chirps as he walks into work.  


Minseok raises an eyebrow at the younger man. “What happened to you?”  


Yixing smiles. “Do you remember what a silly, confused boy I was last night?” Minseok shrugs his shoulders noncommittally. “Well anyway, I took a walk. I went over the bridge, and past the movie theater, and do you know where I ended up?”  


Minseok shakes his head.  


“The library.”  


“The library? How did you like it?” Minseok asks.  


“You’ve never seen such a place!” Yixing gushes. “The books, the marble,” he drops his voice, “the quiet. But I was so terrified! You know how I still can’t read very well. I was frozen solid and then this angelic voice whispers, ‘pardon me.’ And I’m looking into the kindest eyes I’ve ever seen. He asks me if I need any help. I said ‘no, yes I am.’ The next thing I know I’m sipping hot chocolate and telling all of my problems to Joonmyun. He kept sending me these compassionate looks. I was ready to melt. Then he said something about _The Way of All Flesh_ ; well of course it’s a novel but I didn’t know or else I wouldn’t have smacked him!” Yixing sucked in a long breath. “But he just gave me this irresistible smile. And I knew how much I liked him!”  


Minseok nods. “Then what?”  


“He said he could help me with my reading problem by reading to me. I said when and he said now. But then I started to wonder if that was very smart. Like, what if something were to happen?”  


“Well what happened?” Minseok sighs impatiently.  


Yixing’s lips curl up into a devilish grin. “He read to me all night long. How about that?”  


“You’re a minx.”  


“Joonmyun is so different from Kris. I can feel it. I know he’ll only have eyes for me.” Yixing stretches his arms above his head, smiling honey-slow. “A trip to the library has made a new man of me. Now I can see the magic of books!” Another smile. “I always knew I’d do better with a library card and a gramophone.”


End file.
